WidgetFX Server Migration

We migrated the WidgetFX instance to a new server that has a number of benefits:

• Higher level of uptime via hotswap deployments
• Newer, more reliable server
• Support for a content management system for Widget distribution (coming soon)

Depending upon how fast the DNS changes propagated, you may have noticed some downtime if you launched the dock in the past 24 hours while we worked out some of the kinks on the new server.

In particular, if your dock launches with an error of “<jnlp>codebase has an invalid value: $$codebase” then you might have a bad jnlp file wedged in your cache.  It will eventually unwedge itself (jnlp caching is a black art), but you can fix it immediately by doing the following:

Web Start Control Panel

Open the Java Control Panel and click on “Settings…”:

Web Start Settings

The next time you load the dock it will get a clean copy of the jnlp file and jars.  (Good housekeeping anyway, because a large jnlp cache can cause performance problems.)

Behind the Scenes – The Making of Pro JavaFX™ Platform

Welcome to the exclusive, behind-the-scenes look into the making of the Pro JavaFX™ Platform book.

Jim Weaver, Weiqi Gao, Dean Iverson, and I have been slaving away at writing this book to bring it to the JavaFX community by JavaOne. I jokingly wrote in the book that most of the writing happens after midnight (we’ll see if it survives editing!), but it is true.  Writing a book while holding up a full-time day job is not easy.

Of course, there are perks as well. I convinced my wife to let me buy a second monster monitor.  It is hard to tell scale from the picture, but those are both 24″ widescreen displays, one upright so I can edit a whole page at a time.

Pro JavaFX™ Command Center

I just finished writing the chapter on “Extending JavaFX with Third-Party Libraries”. Weighing in at 80 pages, it is the most complete and in-depth look at the JavaFX community outside of Sun, including detailed information on building real applications with JFXtras and WidgetFX.

If you are interested in getting a sneak peek, the first seven chapters (including the one I mentioned) are already available on the Apress Alpha website here:

http://apress.com/book/view/1430218754

The content won’t get any fresher than this, so jump on and help us make this the best JavaFX book available in the world!